Planning on updating to iOS 4.1 this week? Here’s what you need to know!

The final release version of iOS 4.1 for iPhone or iPod touch hits sometime this week (perhaps Wednesday?) and we’ll post it up right on the front page the minute it’s ready. Before you race to download, however, there are a few steps you want to go through to get ready — to make sure you have the smoothest upgrade possible.

Check device compatibility

iPhone 4 gets the full update. iPhone 3GS and the 2009 Pod touch G3 (64GB and 32GB) get everything their hardware supports (no HDR photos, HD YouTube uploads, etc.).

iPhone 3G and iPod touch G2 (which includes the 2009 iPod touch 8GB) get performance fixes, which really plagued them following iOS 4.

The 2007 original iPhone 2G and iPod touch aren’t compatible with iOS 4 or iOS 4.1.

If you’re not sure which iPhone or iPod touch you have, check Apple’s support pages. [iPhone, iPod touch]

Make sure you’re running iTunes 10

You need iTunes 10 in order to use all the new features, like Ping social music network. Apple released it last Wednesday so, if you haven’t gotten it already, hit Software Update and download the latest, or get it directly from Apple. [iTunes 10].

(Developers, remember you have the option of updating via Xcode instead of iTunes).

If you’ve Jailbroken, re-virginize

Many folks who Jailbreak their iPhone or iPod touch likely won’t rush to update but will wait for an iOS 4.1 Jailbreak first. If for some reason you do want to update sans Jailbreak, consider restoring to stock 4.0.2 first. You may not have a problem, but we’ve heard from enough readers enough times that we recommend this including this step.

Again, updating to iOS 4 will mean no Jailbreak, no unlock for now. If that’s a deal breaker for you, don’t upgrade.

If you need extra help with this step, we’ve got a thread up in the TiPb Jailbreak Forum just for you.

Backup your data

Once you have iTunes 10 installed, plug in your iPhone and/or iPod touch and sync it. You want your data backed up, anything you’ve purchased or updated on-device transferred safely to your Windows/Mac library, and the position of any media you’re currently enjoying recorded so you can keep going from the same place once your iOS 4.1 update is done.

Remember, if you haven’t synced in a while it could take a few minutes to backup. Don’t be impatient, let it run.

Once that’s done, launch iPhoto on your Mac or your favorite image capture program on Windows and copy over any photos you’ve taken on the iPhone. Losing your Camera Roll, especially if it has a lot of special moments recorded, is something to be avoided at all costs.

Get up to speed on iOS 4.1

Once everything is done and ready, and if you’re still waiting for Apple to release the update, why not check out our complete iOS 4.1 walkthrough so once you’ve downloaded and installed it you can spend your time enjoying the new functionality, not trying to discover it.

Jump into the forums and learn more

Did we mention how smart TiPb forum members are? If you have any lingering questions or need any additional help, or you just want to relax and chat with like-minded iOS enthusiasts and technology adepts, head on over to the TiPb iPhone Forum.

Best community on the ‘net, check it out.

Anything else?

Did we forget anything or just plain get something wrong? Any tips or tricks you use before updating to a major new version of iOS? Let us know in the comments and we’ll update.

Planning on updating to iOS 4.1 this week? Here’s what you need to know! is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

iTunes 10 features: Listen to music on someone else’s iPhone, iPad

If you’ve ever wanted to plug in your friend’s iPhone, iPad or iPod touch into your computer to listen to their music, 9to5 Mac points out that today is your lucky day. Doing so will grant you access to all of the music on that iOS device to play via iTunes 10 without having to enable manually manage music mode.

Just don’t expect to be able to export the music files to your computer…

[9to5Mac]

iTunes 10 features: Listen to music on someone else’s iPhone, iPad is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

Apple Confirms Game Center Compatibility: Yes on 2nd-Generation iPod Touch, No on iPhone 3G

Apple has confirmed on its Game Center overview page that the social gaming network will be available for the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and second-, third-, and fourth-generation iPod touch models when the feature debuts in iOS 4.1 later this wee...

Review: You Gotta See This for iPhone

This app, which uses the gyroscope in the iPhone 4 to help create a panoramic-style view, has a few shortcomings. But it's a fun app to use and a great way to show off to friends.


IPhone - Smartphone - Handhelds - Wallpapers and Themes - iPhone 4

Apple resets Game Center in advance of iOS 4.1 launch

Looks like Apple has just reset Game Center, their new social gaming network, and any developers testing the service on the Gold Master (GM) seed are now greeted with a “create new account” screen. Moreover, all existing Friends are gone, meaning if you intend to keep connected when iOS 4.1 goes live this week, you’ll have to send and approve your friend requests all over again.

That is, if Apple doesn’t reset it again before launch. But that’s what development builds are for, right?

Apple resets Game Center in advance of iOS 4.1 launch is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

iPad live #20: iOS 4.2

• Our podcast feed
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• Subscribe via iTunes

We’re talking Apple’s special music event, and iOS 4.2 for iPad. Plus gaming gets Unreal, 1 million iTunes users get Ping, being more popular than Linux, Sammy gives us a double whammy, and RIM will take those docs to go. This is iPad live!

Credits

Thanks to the the iPhone Blog Store for sponsoring the podcast, and to everyone who showed up for the live chat!

Our music comes from the following sources:

• I Called You — iPhone Remix by Pete Leidy
via Sneakmove iPhone Ringtone Challenge

iPad live #20: iOS 4.2 is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

‘Macworld Mobile’ Coming to Mobile World Congress 2011

The GSM Association today announced that it has partnered with IDG World Expo, organizers of Macworld Expo, to offer a new "Macworld Mobile" event as part of the Mobile World Congress 2011 to be held in Barcelona next February. The event wil...

Best apps for road warriors and business users

Business Insider has compiled a list of the 10 best free iPhone apps for business and the 20 best iPad apps for business travelers. The lists are pretty comprehensive, and just because you don't fly around from one meeting to the next doesn't mean you need not check them out.

From Todo and Evernote for the iPad (which has been extensively covered here on TUAW) to Yelp and Bump for the iPhone, there are some real gems to help you stay ahead of the game.

If you've got a shiny new iPad or iPhone, but you're struggling to sift the good from the bad on the App Store, this is a great place to start.

Business Insider even points out that, if you put the apps to good use, maybe you can claim the paid ones back on expenses. That's good thinking!

Best apps for road warriors and business users originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 07 Sep 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Best apps for road warriors and business users originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 07 Sep 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Send HTML e-mail from your iPhone with MarkdownMail

A new app, MarkdownMail, lets you send HTML-formatted e-mail from your iOS device, via the Markdown formatting language.


Markdown - HTML - IPhone - Smartphones - Handhelds

Fourth-Generation iPod Shuffle Unboxing and Comparison Photos

iLounge has received a new fourth-generation iPod shuffle and posted a photo gallery documenting the unboxing as well as showing a comparison to the similar second-generation iPod shuffle and other iPod models.


After mo...

Voice Tutor puts vocal exercises in your pocket

Whether you fancy yourself the second coming of Pavarotti or just the best vocalist in your own shower, the truth isn't always pleasant to the ear: not everyone can sing. Everyone, however, can learn to sing better -- and that's the point of Voice Tutor, a sharp app from the experienced vocal coaches at IMPACK and Kimad Productions. For US$4.99, it lets your iPhone or iPod touch provide a full menu of workouts, fixes, and expert tools for polishing your voice and fixing the issues that may hamper your rock and roll nights.

There's one important point about this app that may not be immediately obvious, and it's the source of some sour notes in the App Store reviews: it does not record your singing performances or do any direct analysis. This misperception isn't helped by the microphone-themed graphics in the app, unfortunately.

The initial diagnostic pass on your personal vocal issues is done by manually comparing your sung scales by ear to four sample recordings from the app; it may help to have a trusted friend or straight-faced spouse listen to you and the samples to give an objective assessment. You self-assign a category of practice to your specific situation; whether you sing with tension, breathiness, cracking, or with a connected and smooth tone, there's a full set of exercises for you. A screencast of the app in action is watchable here.

I consider myself a reasonably solid amateur singer, with musical improv training and performance experience (not to mention plenty of karaoke), so I was pleased to come up as "connected" on the diagnostic pass in Voice Tutor -- I had my children help classify me. The training philosophy of the app centers around mastering the "break," the transition between chest voice and head voice that tends to divide vocalists into the traditional SATB parts. In Voice Tutor's world, you work toward a "connected" voice to maintain a smooth and relaxed vocal style regardless of whether you're singing from your chest or head voice.

Each vocal challenge area includes special workouts to help address the problems or issues you may have when singing, with almost 200 individual program segments in the Vocal Focus part of the tool. Once you graduate from your training session, you can head into the Give Me a Workout section anytime you need to warm up or "clear the pipes" before an audition or performance. The app's final section, Riff n' Run, is designed to give more experienced vocalists the tools they need to handle more complex phrasing and develop an individual style fingerprint.

Even in a relatively brief pass with Voice Tutor, I can already feel the exercises and instructional content gently nudging my voice in a better direction; the workouts made me stretch without straining, and I noticed some rough spots starting to come around. It's not pretending to be a substitute for a qualified vocal coach and a tireless accompanist, but consider how much musical instruction is squeezed into the app and how often you might need a warm-up or workout on the go -- at five bucks, you can have it for a song.

Voice Tutor puts vocal exercises in your pocket originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 07 Sep 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Voice Tutor puts vocal exercises in your pocket originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 07 Sep 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nike releases new Nike+ GPS app for runners

Nike has one-upped its own app built into iOS by releasing Nike+ GPS, a new App Store app designed for runners. The decision to release a separate app is a little confusing, but it offers a couple unique features such as GPS tracking and Challenge Me.


App Store - Global Positioning System - Nike - IPhone - Nike+ GPS

Zelfy Peel might be the iPhone remote you’ve been looking for

Our eyes were drawn to an FCC filing this morning from a California start-up by the name of Zelfy; a quick glance at Zelfy's site reveals that they're in "stealth mode," but the picture of a woman using an iPhone to control her TV should give you an idea of what these guys are up to. Indeed, digging through the filing shows a product called "Peel" whose central component, the "Peel Fruit," is a small, battery-powered sphere of an IR blaster that connects to your home network router. Next, you download the Peel app onto the iPhone (or iPod touch) of your choice and control the Fruit over WiFi. The filing reveals little in the way of UI or functionality, but the product's tagline is "every remote and TV guide now on your phone," so we would assume that you'll have access to your cable provider's lineup and schedule from the app. More on this one just as soon as Zelfy decides to emerge from stealth mode, we suppose.

Zelfy Peel might be the iPhone remote you've been looking for originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Sep 2010 09:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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No HDR photography for iPhone 3G/iPhone 3GS?

While we won’t know for absolutely certain until the final release version of iOS 4.1 for iPhone arrives sometime this week (maybe Wednesday), it’s looking like HDR photography will be exclusive to iPhone 4 and not available for iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS users.

HDR photography requires separate 3 pictures be taken as simultaneously as possible — regular, overexposed, underexposed — and then combined together and tone mapped to produce the final image. iPhone 4 with its Apple A4 chipset and 512MB of RAM certainly takes photos much faster than iPhone 3GS. Traditionally Apple would rather not provide a feature at all than do it poorly on older hardware (e.g. no 15 fps video recording on iPhone 3G), so is this just another case of that?

There are HDR apps that work on older iPhones, though not in the same, speedy, integrated way as the built in iOS 4.1 version.

If it does indeed turn out there’s no HDR photography for you, iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS owners, does that seriously harshen your iOS 4.1 mellow? Or are bug fixes, TV rentals, AVRCP Bluetooth, Game Center, and the other features enough to keep your childlike sense of wonder intact?

No HDR photography for iPhone 3G/iPhone 3GS? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

Mongoliad project has launched, apps still coming soon

Neal Stephenson's Mongoliad project has launched -- you can go browse the website right now and read through the offerings available. As Cory Doctorow posts, the project is a series of episodic stories and materials portraying a universe put together by Stephenson and a few other author friends. The idea seems to be that you pay a subscription fee ($5.99 for six months, or $9.99 for a year), and then get access to whatever fiction content is being posted at that time, as well as a giant online Wikipedia-style database of the universe's background. There's not much about the story itself, but Doctorow calls it "epic, a swashbuckling swordplay novel with the sweep, charm and verve of the major Stephenson epics, such as System of the World." That right there sounds interesting enough to pay six bucks and see what's going on.

Unless, that is, you want to actually wait for it on the iPhone. Originally, this was announced as a project that would make its way to mobile devices (like the iPhone), but it looks like we'll have to wait for that. The main page of the project says that they'll "soon be taking subscriptions for app delivery to some of the most popular mobile devices," so I'll probably wait on paying any money until that service comes up -- don't want to pay twice. But we'll keep an eye out for it and let you know when it's available.

Mongoliad project has launched, apps still coming soon originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 07 Sep 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Mongoliad project has launched, apps still coming soon originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 07 Sep 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Official AppShopper App Now Available

Our sister site AppShopper.com launched its official AppShopper app this morning. AppShopper is an app-tracking website that provides a running list of all the latest changes in the App Store. This includes finding new apps, updates and price chang...

TUAW’s Daily App: Texto SMS Favorites

There are a lot of weird texting applications for the iPhone, and some of them are pretty hinky in terms of design or function. But Texto is probably the best looking SMS app I've seen -- it doesn't do any weird non-SMS text messaging or have all kinds of neon graphics running around. All it does is hook up with your iPhone's standard texting service to let you get quick shortcuts to your most commonly used people and messages. Thanks to LA traffic, I'm often running just a little late for meetings, and with Texto, I can just tap a few buttons to send an "I'll be there soon" to my friends and colleagues rather than trying to type the whole thing out as I frantically drive across town.

The app's only 99 cents, but I'll admit it's not for everybody. If you don't text a whole lot already, you probably don't need a whole other app to handle your most frequently-sent messages. And obviously sending a pre-written message is a little impersonal -- your significant other might realize you're blowing them off the fifth time you send a "Sorry, I'm busy, call you soon," message to them. There's one other caveat: You can only use this one in iOS 4.0, due to the way it interacts with the SMS app.

For the right user, Texto can be really helpful, and it's got the bonus of having a great and simple interface free of ads and clutter.

TUAW's Daily App: Texto SMS Favorites originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 07 Sep 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

TUAW's Daily App: Texto SMS Favorites originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 07 Sep 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Review: Google Earth for iPhone and iPad

We take a second look at Google's free app that puts the world at your fingertips and find that many complaints remain, even after an update to optimize Google Earth for the iPad. This iOS version of the software really pales in comparison to the desktop version, with bizarre omissions of seemingly perfect-for-mobile features.


Google - Google Earth - iPhone - Searching - Search Engines

Twitter for iPad – app review

There is a lot of debate out there about Twitter’s new official universal binary app for iPhone/iPad. The iPad update brings an all new interface to the iPad. What’s new? What’s great? What’s not so great? Let’s start at the beginning…

Interface

Twitter for iPad brings a new and unique redesign to the Twitter experience that we know and love on the iPhone. Immediately after signing into the application I noticed something that looked, well, odd. The screen was split about 40/60 in portrait mode. Most other Twitter applications I have used took the full screen in portrait. So, I began my usual scrolling through the timeline and all seemed well and good. The familiar release to refresh was there and everything.

Next I proceeded to tap a tweet. Boom. This is where my Twitter world turned upside down. Next thing I know there is a flurry of screen animations and I am presented with a tweet partially overlapping the timeline! What’s going on here?

What Twitter and company have done is create a snazzy way to view your tweets. This is how it works:

• Tap a tweet with no replies- You see the tweet as well as the user profile of the user
• Tap a tweet with replies- You see the conversation
• Tap a tweet with a link- Take you directly to the webpage

When these actions above happen, everything, I mean everything become stacked. The profile stacks on top top of the tweet, which stacks on top of the timeline, etc. When you are done viewing, say the profile of a user or tweet, swipe it off to the right and you are taken back to your timeline view. I find this interface to be quite fun. Twitter has also found a couple of fun additional interface functions too. If you see an “@” reply in your timeline, place too fingers on the tweet and scroll down. This will display the conversation without selecting it. Want to see a profile? Pinch and zoom out to literally fold open the user profile; do it slowly to get the full effect. You have your standard fanfare for reply, reply all, favorites, retweet, retweet with quote, translate, email tweet, copy tweet and Instapaper. If you have multiple accounts, it couldn’t be easier to switch accounts. All of your accounts appear on the left side of the screen with an icon. Tap the icon to switch accounts, it couldn’t be easier.

Compose/Replies/Direct Messages

If you want to compose a tweet, tap the compose icon in the lower left. This makes the compose window appear above the timeline. The keyboard pops up from the bottom and you can start to type. You can add media, geotag and shrink URLs from here. But what is missing? A couple things. For starters you don’t have username look up. That is just crazy. Second you don’t have hashtag lookup either. Again, crazy. There is room on the screen for them, but I can only assume they have not made it into this build (but for all I know they are hiding somewhere with some sort of crazy finger flick I haven’t found yet.)

When composing direct messages, again you don’t have the username lookup function so composing can be troublesome. You can use the standard Twitter syntax of course, but to be honest I have become dependent on many of the conveniences Twitter applications provide, such as this.

Lists

One of the biggest features to come out of Twitter in recent months is the List feature. I use Lists to separate out my tweets from news to people and so on. One of the typical workflows I have when on the go when I use competitive products to this official Twitter app is to add the person I follow immediately to a list. Sadly, any list management features are completely gone from this version of Twitter for iPad. You can view your lists, view others’ list but no editing, subscribing or adding users from this app.

There are some other things to discuss like options, Instapaper support and more, but the key things I feel people care about is what is the experience like. I really enjoy the experience. it is fresh and fun. In this reviewers opinion it does for Twitter what Reeder did for RSS. However, there are plenty of folks who are not as much of a fan (including our own Rene Ritchie, he just wants to swipe those panels away!).

Should you download Twitter for iPad? Most definitely, afterall it’s free. I think that it breaks new ground and I enjoy what Twitter is trying to do. Will you like it? That is the question.

[Free- iTunes Link]

Pros

• Easy account switching
• Selected tweets stay on screen
• Peek at a profile (pinching)
• Two finger scroll in timeline to view replies

Cons

• When composing, no saved hashtags
• Tweet “breaks” don’t scroll to oldest tweet first
• Missing features
  • No user list management
  • No Username Search
  • No export to address book
  • No Saved hastags

Twitter for iPad – app review is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

Apple, AT&T paid Google millions for advertising in June

We’ve heard Google pays Apple millions to be the default search engine in Safari but now AdAge is reporting Apple (and AT&T) gives Google millions right back for AdWord advertising.

By comparison, one of Google’s top advertisers that month, AT&T Mobile, spent more than $8 million on AdWords in June, a big month for the company, which was supporting the launch of iPhone 4. (AT&T is the third-largest U.S. advertiser, according to Ad Age DataCenter; it spent $2.8 billion on measured media — almost $1.3 billion on TV alone — in 2009. The company declined to comment on its search spending.) [...] Tech rival Apple spent just under $1 million on search during the month, as did chip maker Intel.

How much of that went to lock up the keyword “Droid”?

[AdAge via MacRumors]

Apple, AT&T paid Google millions for advertising in June is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog